Traction Bars

Traction bars are used on rear-wheel-drive cars with leaf springs and live axles in the rear suspension. Under hard acceleration, the front section of the leaf spring can twist into an S-shape, pulling the axle upward and reducing traction. This is known as axle windup. Axle windup can be partly reduced by making the front half of the leaf spring shorter and stiffer, but another way around this problem is to use traction bars. There are three common types of traction bars on the market.

The simplest type of traction bars are also known as slapper bars. A slapper bar is a solid piece of rectangular tubing with a rubber bumper at one end and a mounting bracket at the other. This bar mounts to the rear axle under the leaf spring. If ...

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